USA > Ohio > Knox County > Past and present of Knox County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50
ยท 799
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
Henry Wagner, father of the subject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1822 and the mother, Sarah Anne Jeffries, was born in Wayne township, Knox county, in 1825. Her death occurred on April 25, 1911. The father came to Ohio with his parents and here he was married and devoted his life to farming, becoming the owner of one hundred and thirty-two acres in one farm and seventy-five in another, and was a very successful farmer. Po- litically, he was a Republican and very active in party affairs. He served for some time as trustee of his township. His wife was a member of the Protestant Methodist church.
Six children, four of whom are living, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wagner, namely : George P., Mrs. Sarah E. Martin, William Henry, of this sketch; John L. The death of the father of these children occurred on May 16, 1903.
William H. Wagner was reared on the home farm, where he assisted with the general work when a boy and he received his education in the home public schools, and early in life he turned his attention to husbandry, which has continued to be his occupation. He and his brother George farmed the home place for two years, then the subject worked it on the shares for three years, then rented his present farm several years, buying half of it about 1883, the place then consisting of one hundred fifty-two and one-half acres, and, having prospered by hard work and good management, he purchased the balance of the place in 1900. In 1912 he bought more land, his father's home place of one hundred and thirty acres, well improved. In connection with general farming he raises live stock, being a breeder of Poland-China hogs. He has a modern, cozy and attractive dwelling and large, substantial outbuildings ; in fact, everything about his place denotes thrift and good man- agement. He has been very successful in a business way, and he is inter- ested in the local telephone company.
Politically, Mr. Wagner is a Republican and has always taken an abiding interest in public affairs. He has been township trustee for six years. He and his wife are members of the Grange and also are members of the Baptist church, of Fredericktown.
Mr. Wagner was married on April 20, 1878, to Sarah E. McDonald, a native of Middlebury, Knox county, and the daughter of John and Hannah McDonald, a well known old family of this locality. To the subject and wife one daughter has been born, Anna Grace, who finished her education at Deni- son University, Granville, Ohio, and is now the wife of Herbert E. Leedy, who farms on Mr. Wagner's place ; was music supervisor for several years ; they have two children, Russell Wagner Leedy, born June 27, 1910, and Ruth Elizabeth Leedy, born February 9, 1912.
800
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
The maternal grandmother, Mrs. Dickerson, was a physician, one of the early women practitioners of this country. Sarah E. McDonald's mother was born in Knox county. Ohio, August 28, 1819, and the father was born May 17, 1807, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania. The paternal grandparents, Alexander and Hannah McDonald, were a well known early family, his peo- ple being of Scotch-Irish descent. The maternal grandparents were John and Sarah (Reed) Fiddler. The great-grandparents were Nathan and Hannah Fiddler, the former born March 11, 1774, and the latter on April 3, 1773. The subject of this sketch has in his possession a journal of an ox team driver, while crossing the plains en route for California, via Independence, Larimie and Carson Valley, written in 1859, by an uncle, William Wagner, deceased, who spent the most of his life in California. The journal is bound in leather and has two hundred and sixty pages very nicely arranged and is written with his own hand very plain and easily read, with some illustrations. The book is highly prized.
SAMUEL T. VANNATTA.
As a citizen Samuel T. Vannatta, of Mt. Vernon, has always given his support to all measures for the public good, and his name has long been synonymous with honorable dealings in all the relations of life. As he has passed practically all his life in Knox county he has a wide acquaintance among its best citizens, many of whom are included within the circle of his warm personal friends. Some three score years have dissolved in the mist of time since he came to this part of the country, but during that time his integ- rity has never been questioned, nor has anything savoring in the least of dis- honor ever attached to his name or reputation. He has always tried to meas- ure up to the standard of correct manhood, and this locality is proud to num- ber him among its progressive and representative men. He is now retired from active life and has a well-appointed home in the county seat, where he is passing his declining years in quiet and content.
Mr. Vannatta was born in New Jersey in 1835. He is the son of Peter Vannatta, and his mother was the daughter of Phillip Weller. Peter Vannatta was born in Warren county, New Jersey, and his death occurred in his native state when the subject was one year old. Phillip Weller came to Miller town- ship, Knox county, about 1840 and became a wealthy and influential citizen. His death occurred at his home in Miller township in 1863. The mother of the subject came to Miller township, this county, from New Jersey, following
801
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
the death of her husband in 1841, and here she spent the balance of her life, dying in 1882. She was a member of the Christian church and a woman greatly beloved for her many good qualities.
Samuel T. Vannatta located with his mother on a farm in Miller town- ship and obtained his education in the county district schools here. When of proper age he worked at farming on lands owned by his grandfather, Phillip Weller. Later purchasing a farm, he moved thereto and began life for him- self and mother there. He managed well and closely applied himself and in due course of time had a good home and became one of the prosperous farm- ers and stock men of that township, adding to his original holdings from time to time until he became a large land owner, at one time owning five hundred acres in Miller township, also owned a farm in Monroe township, besides valuable real estate holdings in South Vernon, Dayton and Findlay, Ohio. He was very successful in whatever he turned his attention to, being a man of keen discernment, wise foresight and some judgment, and of such scrupulous honesty that he always enjoyed the confidence and good will of all.
Mr. Vannatta was married in 1862 to Lavina Hawkins, an estimable lady of Mt. Liberty, this county, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Haw- kins, he a prominent stock dealer and wealthy farmer of Knox county. Her parents came here from Rockingham county, Virginia, in early pioneer days.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vannatta, namely : F. A., a successful farmer in Miller township until his death in July, 1908, married Isabelle West, daughter of Jay West and wife, of Miller township, and at his death he left a widow and three children, Blanche, Samuel and Charles. Charles O., the second son of the subject, is mentioned in a separate sketch in this work; Emeline, the daughter, married Calvin Forey, a prominent farmer of Pleasant township, and they have two daughters, Isabelle and Edith.
The wife and mother passed to her rest on May 15, 1903. She always enjoyed the friendship of a wide acquaintance and was a favorite with them, having numerous attributes of a most commendable nature.
Samuel T. Vannatta has all his life been a very active man of affairs. Besides his extensive private interests he has been an influential factor in public matters. Politically, he is a loyal Republican, and for a period of nine years he served as trustee of Miller township, one year as land appraiser and two terms as appraiser of personal property. In 1888 he was elected a mem- ber of the board of county commissioners and re-elected in 1891, serving two terms, and he was president of the board both terms. During his incumbency of this office the viaduct at the foot of Main and Mt. Vernon streets was con-
80_
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
structed, largely through his efforts, and it stands today as a monument to his public spirit and practical business sense. As a public servant he has al- ways discharged his duties most faithfully and conscientiously, winning the hearty approval of all concerned.
In 1895 Mr. Vannatta left the home farm and moved to South Vernon, where he has since resided, maintaining there an attractive, modern and well kept home, enjoying the fruits of his former years of labor, a justly earned respite.
Few men have been more active in both public and private life and few are better known or more highly esteemed in Knox county than he. Person- ally he is a pleasant gentleman to know, cultured, well informed, broad- minded. charitable and obliging.
CHARLES O. VANNATTA.
In examining the life record of Charles O. Vannatta, one of the most substantial and progressive agriculturists and stock men of Miller township, Knox county, we find that he is the possessor of those elements which always make for success. Earnest labor, unabating perseverance. good management and a laudable ambition-these are the elements that have brought him a com- fortable competence and the good will of his fellow citizens. His career has ever been such as to warrant the trust and confidence of the business world. for. like his honored father, he has ever transacted all business on the strict- est principles of integrity, and, like him, his devotion to the public good is unquestioned and arises from a sincere interest in his fellow men.
Mr. Vannatta was born on January 12. 1869, on a farm in Miller town- ship, where he now resides. He is the son of Samuel T. and Lavina (Haw- kins) Vannatta, a complete sketch of whom appears on another page of this volume.
Mr. Vannatta was reared on the home farm and when of proper age assisted with the general duties there during the crop seasons, and during the winter months he attended the common schools near his home. This training was supplemented later in life by actual contact with the business world and by wide miscellaneous home reading and study.
On December 4, 1896, he was united in marriage with Maude Sperry, a lady of fine traits of character and the daughter of Newton and Laura (Thatcher) Sperry, one of the prominent early families of Knox county.
803
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
To the subject and wife six children have been born, named as follows : Olive E., Enos E., Anna L., Sperry Thomas, Fred M. and Frank A.
Mr. and Mrs. Vannatta have lived on the home farm since their mar- riage and have kept the place under a high state of cultivation and improve- ment. It consists of four hundred and fifty acres of as valuable and desirable land as the county can boast. In connection with general farming on an ex- tensive scale, Mr. Vannatta raises all kinds of live stock, handling excellent grades and no small part of his annual income is derived from this source. He raises large droves of sheep, and is an excellent judge of all kinds of live stock.
Politically, Mr. Vannatta is a Republican, and has been more or less active in public affairs. He is at present serving as trustee of Miller town- ship and he is a member of the school board of his township, and he has served as a member of the Republican county central committee, also as a member of the township election board. He has been very faithful in dis- charging his duties as a public servant and has won the approval of all con- cerned by his judicious course. Fraternally, he belongs to the Fairview Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, being a charter member of that organiza- tion. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church at Brandon. They are both well liked socially and number their friends only by the limits of their acquaintance.
WARREN T. PAIGE.
The early agriculturists of Knox county, Ohio, will ever be held in the grateful memory of the present generation and of the active young farmers of today. The husbandman who came here some three-quarters of a century ago and hewed from the dense forest a breathing place and erected for him- self and adventuresome family of wife and children a rude log cabin, open- ing the country, then roadless and the home of the red man and many a species of wild beast, for the advance of a higher civilization, well deserves the respect which is accorded him after he has passed his allotted span of years and taken up his work on higher planes of endeavor, leaving to suc- ceeding generations a heritage which is priceless. Of such sterling people sprang Warren T. Paige, one of Monroe township's successful farmers.
Mr. Paige was born on October 25, 1863, on a farm in Clinton town- ship, this county. He is the son of James M. and Sarah Jane (Adams) (Scott) Paige, both born in Monroe township, Knox county, where they
804
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
spent their entire lives with the exception of four years in Clinton township. They each represented pioneer families and here they received such educa- tion as the early schools afforded and were married, spending their lives on a farm. Politically, the father was a Republican and active in public affairs. For a time he was trustee of Monroe township, but was not an office seeker, preferring to lead a quiet life, attending strictly to his own affairs. His death occurred on April 10, 1900, having survived his wife thirty-two years, she having preceded him to the grave on July 3. 1868. They were the parents of two sons, Warren T., of this sketch, and John W., who lives in Mt. Vernon.
Warren T. Paige was reared on the home farm, four miles northeast of Mt. Vernon, where he still lives, and there he has directed his life energies and has been repaid with a large measure of success, the place consisting of one hundred acres of excellent land, which he has kept well improved and well tilled and the buildings are in good shape.
The father of the subject was married a second time, his last wife being Catherine Mckinney, of Monroe township, where she was born October 14, 1832, and she was reared and educated here, in fact has spent her life in her home community and is now making her home with the subject. Mr. Paige has never married.
Politically. Mr. Paige is a Republican and he has been active in public matters and a frequent delegate to party conventions. In 1907 he was elected trustee of Monroe township. He is not an office seeker, but always interested in whatever tends to the advancement of his community. He is a member of the Masonic order, having joined in Netawaka, Kansas, where he spent several years engaged in farming and the milling business. He re- turned to Knox county when his father died.
Mr. Paige is a man of strong convictions and he stands high in his community. He has been very successful in a business way and has accu- mulated a competency.
JOHN T. COLWILL.
Not a pretentious or exalted life has been that of John T. Colville, farmer and stock man of Monroe township, this county, but one that has been true to itself and to which the biographer may revert with feelings of satisfaction and respect. Having attained prestige by successive steps in the agricultural world, from a modest beginning, it is eminently fitting that a sketch of his life, together with an enumeration of his leading characteristics,
805
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
be given in this connection, as he is recognized as a man deeply interested in everything pertaining to the community along material lines. Having started in a lowly capacity, he has forged to the front from the old log cabin days, and by faithful service and prompt discharge of all duty devolving upon him he has become one of the representative men of his county.
Mr. Colwill was born on March 21, 1848, in Gambier, College town- ship, Knox county, Ohio. He is the son of Simon and Anna ( Heard) Col- will, both born in Cornwall, England, where they grew to maturity and were married, emigrating to America immediately after their wedding, coming direct to Gambier, Ohio, in 1835, where the father engaged at his trade of cabinetmaking and carpentering. In the fall of 1848 the family moved to a farm which they purchased on the border of Monroe and College townships, just north of Gambier ; here the elder Colwill farmed during the crop season and worked at his trade of cabinet making in the winter. He established a good home here, in which he continued to reside until his death, in August, 1884, at the age of seventy-four years, his widow surviving until December, 1904. reaching the unusual age of ninety-four years. These parents belonged to the Episcopalian church at Gambier, and at her death Mrs. Colwill was the oldest member of this church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Simon Colwill nine children were born, namely : Mary Jane, deceased; William enlisted in the Civil war and died before his enlistment expired : Daniel was also a soldier in the Union army and he was killed at the battle of Stone River, Tennessee; Emma is deceased : Elizabeth Ann married Robert Hall, the latter being now deceased, and she is living in Pleasant township: John T., of this review; Emma L. married Ross Pumphrey, of Martinsburg, this county ; Frances E. married Dr. A. D. Wel- ker, of Gambier ; Simon A. lives at Croton, Licking county, Ohio. Both par- ents of these children are buried in the cemetery at Gambier. Politically, the father was a Republican and he was always interested in public matters, but was never an office seeker, beyond several township offices.
John T. Colwill, of this sketch, was reared on the home farm and as- sisted with the work there in the summer time, attending the common schools in the winter, also the schools of Gambier. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age. On May 7, 1881, he was married to Florence May Lyborger, daughter of Alexander and Margaret (Brown) Lyborger, a prominent pioneer family.
Three children have been born to the subject and wife, namely: Harry, deceased; William C. is married and living in Gambier ; Clarence B. is mar- ried and is living with his father on the farm.
806
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
The subject has lived on this farm ever since he was married, the first six years being spent in a log cabin, near the site of his present modern and comfortable home. His place consists of one hundred and ten acres of ex- cellent land, which he has kept well improved and under a fine state of culti- vation, carrying on successfully general farming and stock raising.
Politically, Mr. Colwill is a Republican, as are both of his sons and they are all public spirited in that they lend such aid as is proper in furthering the interests of the community in a public way. He has served as road supervisor and as a member of the township board of education. He and his family are members of the Episcopal church and have always been active in church and Sunday school work, and the family stands high in the social life of the com- munity.
L. H. BURGESS.
Milford township has no better known citizen than L. H. Burgess, one of the worthy native sons of Knox county and a connecting link with the pio- neer epoch and the present, for here he has spent his useful and industrious life and has seen the county develop and so ordered his course as to commend the respect and good will of all.
Mr. Burgess was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, March 17, 1841. He is the son of William P. and Lydia G. (Plummer) Burgess. The paternal grandparents, William Burgess and wife, were natives of Frederick City. Maryland, where they lived and died, he being a large slave-holder and dur- ing the Civil war attempted to ship slaves to New Orleans, but his property was confiscated.
The maternal grandparents, Jesse and Ruth E. Plummer, were also na- tives of Maryland, from which state they came to Ohio in 1825 and here lived the lives of pioneers, developing a good farm on which they died. They were both Quakers.
William P. Burgess, father of the subject, was born in Maryland in 1794, and there the mother's birth also occurred. They were married in 1816, and in 1825 moved to Knox county, Ohio, and settled in Mt. Vernon, Mr. Burgess entering the mercantile business in that city and remained there until his death, on July 7, 1845. He was very successful in his chosen line and enjoyed the good will of all who knew him, being a man of integrity and industry. He took quite an interest in public affairs, and served at one time as mayor of Mt. Vernon. He was prominent in both municipal and church affairs. He was a stanch Methodist.
807
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Burgess, three of whom are living at this writing, namely : William Thomas lives in Wichita, Kansas; Ruth E. lives in Mt. Vernon; L. H. of this review; Louisa P., who was the wife of William T. Bristol, of Illinois, died January 8, 1912.
The immediate subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools and when a young man began farming, working by the month for a time, later renting land, and finally in 1863 he bought a farm of sixty acres in Morris township which he sold a year later and bought in Milford township a farm of seventy acres. Since then he spent two years in Iowa and Kansas, and he is now the owner of eighty-two acres in Milford township, which he has kept well improved and well cultivated, carrying on general farming and stock raising, and for a period of twenty-five years he was widely known as a breeder of Poland-China hogs, though he has dis- carded that line of business. He has a good home and is very comfortably situated. Politically, he is a Republican and has held a number of the town- ship offices, always with much credit.
Mr. Burgess was married in 1863 to Emily M. Beardslee, who was born on the farm now owned by the subject and here she grew to womanhood and received her education. She is the daughter of Platt G. and Mary M. ( Miller) Beardslee, old settlers here. Her paternal grandfather, William Beardslee, came to Knox county in 1812 among the pioneers. He lived two years at Granville, Licking county, then moved to Milford township, this county. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Burgess, namely : William B., Jessie ( deceased), Orrel (died November 5. 1911), Lola and Erma.
J. EDWARD BELL.
It is an excellent thing to be born to great wealth, like a Vanderbilt, but it is also an excellent thing to be born to a good name. When ancestors through many generations have lived useful lives and have made a splendid name for themselves by devotion to duty and honor, it is one of the brightest inheritances that can be left to descendants. And so the families that had ancestors in the Revolution or in the service of the country many years ago boast of such services and found organizations of the descendants with the record of their fathers for the foundation stone. And so descendants of families that came to the wilderness of Ohio and carved refined and Christian homes from the primeval wilds may well boast of the deeds of their fathers
(52)
808
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
and mothers who conquered the woods and made the soil blossom with the flowers of industry and peace. J. Edward Bell, farmer and stock man of Hilliar township, Knox county, had such ancestors.
Mr. Bell was born on February 12, 1865, on the farm, three miles northwest of Centerburg, where he has always lived. He is the son of Hiram and Mary Ann ( Hughes) Bell, the father born near Utica, Licking county. and the mother on a farm in Clay township, Knox county. The father spent his boyhood in his native county, coming to this county in early life and he and his wife settled in the spring of 1864 on the farm in Hilliar township, where their son, J. Edward, now lives, and there they continued to reside. This farm, consisting of one hundred and twenty-five acres, has always been regarded as one of the best in the community. The father was a progressive farmer for his day and became an influential citizen here, active in Demo- cratic politics, and he held local offices with credit, such as that of township trustee. His death occurred on July 6, 1900. His widow survives.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Bell, one of whom died in infancy; besides the subject, Florence is living, being the wife of J. M. Ervin, of Columbus, Ohio.
J. Edward Bell spent his childhood and youth pretty much as the average farmer boy, and he received his education in the common schools. He was married on October 2, 1886, to Mary Taylor, daughter of Josiah and Eliza- beth Ann ( Bradfield) Taylor, of Morrow county, Ohio, and to this union two sons have been born. Ray C. and Jay M., both at home.
For fourteen years after he was married, Mr. Bell operated a rented farm of one hundred acres, lying north of his father's farm, and at the death of the father the subject bought all the interests in the home place, and moved there and this has continued to be his place of abode. He has kept the old place so well cultivated that it has retained its original fertility and has yielded abundant crops from year to year. He has kept it under a high state of culti- vation and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser and has a good home and a competency as a result of his close application and good management. He has also purchased the farm which he rented for fourteen years when he first started out in life, and in addition to this another tract, all adjoining, making in all a most excellent farm of two hundred and ninety acres. But notwithstanding this large amount of productive land, Mr. Bell is not an extensive crop raiser, producing only enough to properly feed his flocks of sheep and other stock. He has long been one of the largest sheep raisers in this part of the state. His Delaine sheep are greatly admired by all who see them and because of their superior quality they find a very
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.